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Gardiner road rage sidelines Toronto's chief planner

If a rift between the city’s chief magistrate and the city’s chief planner happens and no one is around to hear it...

In this case is not an issue because this rift is now way out in the open, thanks to the Gardiner Expressway.

After Mayor John Tory came out early in support of a “hybrid” option for the eastern section of the Gardiner, chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat publicly stood in the opposite corner – telling a conference that it is in the city’s best interest to create a “grand boulevard.”

Galloway: Has your office restricted her from talking about this publicly because she disagrees with your position?

Tory: No, I tell you what. I think there is a line -

Galloway: Yes or no question.

Tory: No, I think there’s a line that has to be drawn between what a public servant on any issue – not just the Gardiner – should be saying in terms of debating politicians. But at the end of the day she has been free to express her opinion. The only thing, generally, I think public servants should not be doing is sort of debating politicians because they are public servants and there is a line to be drawn there.

We asked Keesmaat the same question Tuesday – whether she had been told to forward all Gardiner questions to the mayor’s office and she replied in an e-mail: “This matter is going to council tomorrow and if asked, I will answer questions at council.”

She copied the ciy’s chief spokesperson, Jackie D’Souza, on the e-mail.

City hall watchers meanwhile have taken to Twitter to back Keesmaat, tweeting messages of encouragement with the hashtag #ThankYouJen.

"#ThankYouJen for being fair and professional and balanced as you help build a city for all the people,” read one.

Others used more than 140 characters to lash out.

Key Tory campaign strategist and pollster Nick Kouvalis, who while not on staff continues to advise the mayor, went on a Twitter tirade against Keesmaat on Monday.

Though he called her an “extremely competent planner,” in a series of tweets, Kouvalis also called out her “ego” and said at worst she was being “insubordinate” for showing a “total lack of respect” for the mayor’s office.

“Further I would suggest that she would be best to resign & join private citizens who are voicing their opinion on either side of issue,” he wrote, before suggesting she plans to campaign for office in 2018.

Those accusations came after Keesmaat tweeted on a completely unrelated topic – ravines – just before the mayor was making a speech to the Empire Club of Canada about the Gardiner.

When she saw the ensuing supportive tweets in her defence on Tuesday, Keesmaat tweeted: “Wow. Just learned this happened today. Just, wow.”

Update:

The mayor’s chief spokesperson Amanda Galbraith wrote back about the apparent battle with Keesmaat.

She confirmed that Tory, the mayor's staff, interim city manager John Livey and Keesmaat met to discuss the Gardiner, where Keesmaat apparently got a talking-to (Galbraith did not confirm when the meeting took place).

“The Mayor has said it is perfectly appropriate for staff to make their opinions public, as Ms. Keesmaat has done,” Galbraith wrote. “However, it is equally important to respect the committee and council process while making these options public. Further, it is not appropriate is for city staff to campaign against councillors or the mayor on social media or through other public platforms.”

Meanwhile, the city’s director of urban design Harold Madi – who works under Keesmaat – has laid out a long and detailed defense of the boulevard option.

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